Pages

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Paul, The Great Teacher

This age appropriate reading material was developed by teachers
for the purpose of introducing the Bible to the very young. The stories
under this category at Easter Egg Crafts have been simplified and a
singular moral or ethic is introduced to children in the reading of the
story aloud as was and still is an educational practice in most
Christian congregations today. Certainly the stories are far more
complicated in the scriptures than what you will read here. But you must
remember that these were written for very young students ages five to
eight. (age. 5-8) The materials are free for teachers, ministers and
parents to print and handout to children anywhere, in any quantity, for
any purpose no matter where they live in the world.

Paul had a very interesting history with Jesus. Although he was very bright, he also, hated the very people that God had sent his own Son to rescue from eternal death. Before he met Jesus in a vision, Paul was called Saul. God changed his name from Saul that means "asked for, prayed for" in Hebrew to Paul that means "small" in Latin. Jesus turned Paul's belligerent, hate-filled personality into that of a humble, God fearing, loving personality. In Bible times, many Jewish people were disappointed in the humility and sacrifice displayed in Jesus, in fact, so much so that they would not except him as The Messiah. They wanted to be powerful and rule over their enemies in a way that they had been treated in kind. This attitude burned inside of Paul, so much so that he had a great many Christians killed before changing into the kind of teacher that the church remembers him to have been. But Paul needed to learn to live and play by God's rules, not the rules of his temple or people. This was and still is a difficult lesson to teach and learn.